“Palisades is taking this conservative measure at this time because of our unrelenting commitment and focus on nuclear safety,” he said.

The plant will return to service when repairs are complete.

A report released in July cited problems with the facility’s “safety culture” and recommended improvement in communications at the plant.

The Entergy-owned plant is one of the four lowest-rated power plants in the nation, according to a March Nuclear Regulatory Commission report. The facility is also under scrutiny from a U.S. congressman for a leak in a water tank that forced the plant to shut down for almost a month. The NRC’s Office of Investigation, which handles matters of NRC rules and criminal law, is looking into that water tank leak.

Parts of Allegan County in Casco Township are within a 10-mile-radius Emergency Planning Zone — the prime area where people could feel the effects of a radiation leak from the plant and evacuations would be mostly likely in an emergency.